


The Dark Night

by pastles



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU - Heroes, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 07:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7881931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastles/pseuds/pastles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Prompt 03</b><br/>Kink Meme (<a href="http://kakairu-kink.livejournal.com/1758.html?thread=939998#t939998">x</a>): “So Batman!AU</p><p>I would like Kakashi as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Iruka as commissioner Gordon. So crime Fighting, banter, seduction, friendship or relationship. Anything would be awesome. Also if you wanted to throw in some sexy times that would be great ;) If you wanted to switch the roles with a Batman Iruka that would be great too.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dark Night

**12 Years Ago**

Iruka woke with a start, heart pounding, unsure of what caused the sudden jolt to wakefulness. Eyes blinked in the darkness, fear coursing through his veins, Iruka crawled off his bed and made his way to this parents’ bedroom. Despite his earlier boast of being able to sleep alone now, Iruka felt a deep need to feel his parents’ breathing surround him.

But his parents were not asleep, Iruka heard the hurried movements in their room. For a moment, Iruka thought that it was already day and that he was late for school. The living room was bathed in a bright orange light, and Iruka was left breathless by the feeling of…

Evil.

Running the few steps to his parents’ bedroom, Iruka was horrified to find them awake and already wearing their uniforms; their badges glinting in the orange light.

“Oh, Iruka, did we wake you?” Iruka could only shake his head as his mother came to him and pulled him into a tight hug. 

“Whe…” Iruka stopped and gritted his teeth to stop them from chattering. Taking a deep breathe, he tried again. “Where are you going?”

Iruka’s father strapped on his weapon, and knelt in front of Iruka. He gave Iruka a reassuring pat on the head while his mother finally let go and moved to finish dressing up. 

“Gotham is in trouble, Iruka. And we need to go help.”

“I can help too!”

“No, Iruka, you stay here okay? It’ll be safer here.”

“No! I want to go too! I’m in the junior corps… and..”

Iruka’s face was squashed into his father’s chest as he was pulled into the tightest hug that he had ever received from his father. Soon, Iruka felt another pair of arms around him and he mother on his back. Surrounded by his parents, Iruka took a deep breathe.

He wished that they could stay like this forever.

A loud blast had his parents jumping up and pushing him into their closet. Iruka considered resisting, but something in his parents’ frantic expressions had him move to the closet immediately. He hid in one corner of the small closet, pulling his knees to his chest and tried to make himself as small as possible. Whatever it was, he believed that his parents could handle it. Like the scrap that he got on his knees, his parents would make things okay again.

A huge tremor shook the home as another loud blast sounded, deafening Iruka because it had been very close. But even with the ringing in his ears, Iruka heard everything.

“Ah… The Uminos. We’ve been looking for you.”

“Get out! How did you even find us? Urgh!”

“Ikkaku!”

“Shut up, bitch! You’ll rue the day when you decided to go against the 9 Tails Gang!”

“You’re supposed to be police officers! How could you do something like that?”

“Get with the times, sister. You still think there is hope for Gotham? This place is corrupt to its core. There is nothing you do-gooders can do about this situation. You should have been smart and given in.”

“Never, we took an oath when we put on this uniform, and we’ll never swallow our pride and honour like you have… URGH.”

“NO!!!”

2 loud pops… and Iruka blinked, tears coursing down his face. He knew that sound, he’d been to the firing range with his parents before. Scrambling to his feet, Iruka opened the closet door, panic driving all this actions. He managed 2 steps towards the bedroom door before another figure appeared at the window and pushed him right back into the closet, a gloved hand covering his mouth.

Iruka struggled, wanting to go to his parents, elbows jabbing into the body behind him in his haste to go save his parents. He heard the soft “oof” behind him, and increased his efforts to get away. But that only caused the arms to tightened around him, like a sick parody of the hug that he had just received from his parents moments ago. 

“Shut it, do you want them to find you?”

Iruka ignored the voice and twisted some more. He needed to go see his parents! They needed his help!

“Your parents are dead! There’s nothing you can do! Or do you want to die too?”

The slightly panicked voice finally cut through Iruka’s desperation and he finally stopped struggling, a low whine starting in the back of this throat. Tears blinded him and Iruka felt the arms loosening around him as he was gently supported to the floor. He knew what the stranger said was right, and his heart constricted, causing him to clutch at his chest even as he tasted the salt from his tears.

“Stay here, and don’t go anywhere, okay?”

Iruka curled into himself, barely registering the movement of the other person. His parents were dead, where could he go? Muffled thumps came from the living room and the closet door opened wider. Iruka felt, more than he saw, the other person kneeling next to him. A warm hand shook his shoulder.

“Do you have any other place to go to?”

Iruka shook his head. This was his home, where else would he go? He had friends, but none lived close enough for him to go to now. His parents weren’t close to the neighbours and kept to themselves mostly. Iruka never understood why. His parents were friendly people, and generally made friends easily enough. His parents were…

His parents were dead.

Iruka pushed himself up, he had to go see his parents. A hand, rough and strong, stopped him.

“You don’t want to see them like that.”

Iruka shrugged off the loose grip. “I have to.”

He pushed opened the closet door, and made his way slowly to the bedroom entrance. He stared out into the living room, his mind at first not making sense of the extra lumps that was strewn all across his mother’s neat living room. A keening cry broke free and Iruka ran to the 2 bodies with the badges. He stopped just before he reached them, hand out. Maybe if he shook them, they’d wake up?

Iruka had no idea how long he stayed there crying, his small body curving over the cooling bodies of his parents. The distant sounds of blasts a terrifying backdrop to his grief. But he remembered the warm hand that patted his head, and strong arms that lifted him when he finally gave in to his exhaustion. 

When Iruka woke, he was lying in a hospital bed, a grim looking blonde woman hovering above him. That was the last thing he saw before he felt a prick in his left arm, and he finally lost consciousness.

++++++++++

**6 years ago**

“You get back here, you brat!”

“NO! AND YA CAN’T MAKE ME!!!”

Iruka huffed in annoyance as he stopped running after an orange blur who disappeared around the corner. He had an idea as to where that orange-clad menace was running to, so he stopped chasing after the boy turned to look in dismay at the graffitied statue of Mayor Sarutobi. Not for the first time did Iruka wonder why Mayor Sarutobi asked him to help out at the orphanage, and to keep an eye out on an extremely noisy and mischievous brat. He was about to enter the Police Academy, surely there would be better things for him to focus on? True, he had been volunteering at the orphanage for the past few years, so it wasn’t that that was bothering him.

He sighed, it was going to take a while for him to clean up that mess. Iruka gritted his teeth, oh, how he disliked that… that…

_Monster_

Iruka flinched. He was ashamed of himself for being able to even think of that word, for being able to think of a young and innocent boy in that manner. He knew, in his head, that Naruto was not to blame for the devastation that happened to Gotham 6 years ago. No matter what the rumours said. Iruka didn’t know how those rumours started, but he heard that it was Naruto’s parents, Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, who were responsible for stopping the unnatural phenomenon 6 years ago. And Naruto was just a baby then, he couldn’t have done anything.

But those whiskers marking on his face…

Every time Iruka saw those markings, he was transported back to the night, when orange flamed filled lit the night and the shadows were long and huge and menacing. When those shadows killed his parents. 

The shadows with the whiskers on their dark faces.

Logically, he knew that Naruto was not responsible for the deaths of his parents, but it was difficult to remember that every time he saw those whisker-like markings on the boy’s face. Markings that reminded him of the men who had broken into his childhood home and killed his parents. Even though the Mayor had forbidden him to follow the court proceedings, it had been impossible for Iruka to be completely ignorant of what was going on. Their sentencing to Arkham Asylum was splashed across all the news, and was front page news on every newspaper and magazine. There had been literally no way that Iruka could have avoided any of that. They all had whiskers drawn on their faces, like some sort of sick gang sign. Like the ones on Naruto’s face.

Plus, the boy was no normal human boy.

Iruka sighed and rolled up his sleeves, preparing to put his back into scrubbing the paint off the statue before anyone else saw it. Naruto really should have been the one to do the cleaning, but Iruka couldn’t be bothered to go after that boy. The less he interacted with the brat, the better it was for the both of them. Iruka didn’t want to say anything that would hurt the boy, but he also didn’t think that he would be able to stop himself if he was around Naruto to too long. It was just too painful for Iruka.

“Iruka? What are you doing?” A gentle voice broke through Iruka’s thoughts. “I hope you’ve not taken up to pranking again.”  
Iruka blushed, as he turned from his task to face the Mayor of Gotham, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

“It… It wasn’t me, Mayor Sarutobi! It was...that… It was…” Iruka took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. “It was Naruto.”

“Ah…” A sad expression crossed the mayor’s wizened face, and Iruka felt a pang of guilt. Hiruzen thoughtfully puffed on his pipe, “And you’re cleaning it because…?”

“Naruto ran off…” Iruka muttered guiltily.

“And you let him?” Hiruzen’s voice had an amused note to it.

“He…” Iruka choked on the lie. “He was too fast.”

“I see…” Smoke curled up from the pipe. “Come, have a walk with me, Iruka.”

“But the statue…”

“Ignore it. If I don’t mind, I don’t see how anyone else has a right to do so.”

Iruka nodded and threw his cloth back into the pail. He knew what the mayor, the closest thing to a parent Iruka had ever since his parents were killed, was going to say to him. Bracing himself for the scold, Iruka stuck his hands in his pockets and tried to look like he didn’t care. To Iruka’s surprise, Hiruzen didn’t say anything about Naruto. He asked Iruka about this day, and whether he was excited to be accepted into the Academy. He pointed out some of the buildings, and told Iruka how they used to be full of people and their families. He described the stores that lined the streets; their windows all now boarded up.

Hiruzen told Iruka that when he was first running for Mayor of Gotham, this was where he started from. This was the old district of Gotham, when the city was still struggling to survive. The people came together, and built a thriving metropolis.

Iruka let the mayor's voice wash over him, enjoying the gentle tone. He missed the time when he was able to meet up with the mayor for a game of shogi and some tea. When his parents died, Mayor Sarutobi had been the rock in his life. Iruka was sure that he wouldn't have survived if it hadn't been for the mayor's guidance.

Hiruzen stopped walking, and Iruka glanced at him in askance. Hiruzen gave a few thoughtful puffs on his pipe and tilted his chin towards someplace.

“Even in the ugliest of places, there will be spots of beauty.”

The sounds of laughter drifted from the park they had stopped at. Iruka smiled as he noticed the children running and playing in the small space that was more like a slightly big garden than a actual park.

Then Iruka noticed the lonely figure sitting by himself on the tree swing. While other children were running around, laughing and having fun, Naruto sat alone, the swing swaying slightly. He hadn't noticed Iruka and Hiruzen as his attention was completely on the other children.

Who acted as though he wasn't there at all.

Iruka swallowed the lump in his throat. He recognised that look. Iruka had no idea how long they stood there, but it was long enough that the kids started making their way home. Some of them had parents or older siblings who picked them up; while some just ran off, waving goodbye to their friends.

Soon, all that was left was a young boy, dressed in orange, bright yellow hair and clear blue eyes that caused Iruka to blink back tears even as Naruto wiped away his own.

Without saying another word, Hiruzen started walking again and Iruka had no choice but to follow.

That night, Iruka lay awake on his bed for a very long time.

++++++++++

“You get back here, you brat!”

“NO! AND YA CAN’T MAKE ME!!!”

“Oh, I can’t, can I?

Iruka’s grin was ruthless as he stretched out an arm and caught on to the back of the escaping boy’s jacket.

“ACK!” Naruto choked but Iruka didn’t show any mercy as he dragged the boy behind him.

“Leggo!!!” Naruto started to struggle, and at one point, he even managed to grab hold onto a lamp post and Iruka actually had to exert some strength to get the boy away from it.

Iruka had to give the boy props for not giving up the fight, but in the end, he was no match for Iruka. He finally let go of Naruto in front of the statue, still covered in bright paint.

“Clean it up.”

“NO!”

“Naruto, don’t be a brat. Clean it up.”

“Why do you care? It’s not like you cared before!” Iruka’s heart clenched at the young boy’s expression. It was defiant, it was mullish, and underneath all of that, Iruka saw loneliness. The same loneliness that he still felt sometimes.

“Just do it, or else you’re not going to get any dinner.”

Naruto seemed to be considering his choices but Iruka’s cracking of his knuckles seemed to help him make up his mind. Grumbling, Naruto took the cleaning supplies and started erasing the evidence of his prank.

“S’not like anyone would care whether I get dinner or not…”

Iruka heard, even though he was sure that Naruto didn’t mean for him to hear it. Scratching at his scar, “Say Naruto…”

“What…”

Iruka looked away from the boy, feeling his face burning, “If you do a good job, I’ll take you to ramen after this.”

“What??”

“You don’t want to?”

“NO WAY! I’ll clean this up, and it’ll be so clean that you can eat off it, believe it!”

Iruka chuckled at Naruto’s laughter, and grabbed another cloth.. He reached out and ruffled the young boy’s hair, pushing his head down so Naruto wouldn’t be able to see the suspicious sheen in his eyes when Iruka saw the Naruto’s look of incredulity.

“I’m afraid that we’ll be here till tomorrow at the rate you’re working. Hurry up.”

“HEY! I’ll be faster than you!”

And the day looked brighter to Iruka.

++++++++++

**Present Day(ish)**

The station was noisy with the sounds of phones ringing, of suspects yelling and pleading, police officers yelling back at them, of keyboards clacking as reports were being filed (hopefully properly) and wheels on chairs squeaking as detectives travelled on them.

Iruka sighed as he switched on his desktop terminal. If he was lucky, his partner would have already submitted their report for the drug bust 2 nights ago. Iruka pulled up the record sheet and wasn’t surprised to not find any record of the arrest that they made. Iruka knew that if he made his way to Evidence he wouldn’t find any of the drugs that they had confiscated.

Mizuki was a dirty cop.

And so were most of the cops in the precinct. At least, Mizuki did it to survive. Or so he said. He also said that it was difficult to be partnered with Iruka. A cop that actually believed in what was written on their badges.

To protect and serve.

But Mizuki would have Iruka’s back. They had been partners since their Academy days, and even before that, Mizuki looked out for Iruka in the orphanage. He wouldn't betray Iruka, even if “Iruka made things so damned difficult for Mizuki all the time”.

Resolutely, Iruka pulled out his notes on the drug bust they had worked on, and began typing out his report. They were going to be really pissed off with him in Records again, for him filing what they felt was a waste of time. Iruka snorted, he used to work in Records, they could just suck it up. Just as Iruka was about to hit print on his report, his terminal screen went black. Blinking, Iruka cursed as a smug laugh sounded from behind him. He gritted his teeth as a grinning Tayuya swung the electrical cord around in a wide arc in front of her.

“I save my work, you know,” Iruka stood and moved to reclaim the cord.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Tayuya sang, her glee so obvious that Iruka had a moment of panic. “We’ll replace your set even before you’re out of the captain’s office.”

“What?”

A sickening crunch from the vicinity of his desk made him turn and Iruka was just in time to see a smiling Dosu lift up his terminal like it weighed nothing. And before Iruka could react, his captain’s yell rang loud and clear above the noise of the busy office.

“Umino Iruka, in here! Now!”

Ignoring the snickers around him, Iruka squared his shoulders and strode to his captain’s office, all the while trying to calm down. While his captain was never obvious about it, Iruka had the impression that he was always looking for a way to dismiss Iruka.

“At ease, detective.”

Iruka deliberately relaxed his shoulders but kept alert as his captain continued staring at him, focusing on a spot just above his captain left shoulder. Iruka tried to not stare at his captain’s teeth as a wide grin stretched his strangely blue lips.

But they were extremely sharp teeth.

“Sir?”

Iruka reached out to take the card his superior was waving at him. It was an invitation, with enough weight for Iruka to guess that it was an invite to a very high-class event. Most of the people that Iruka came into contact with on a regular basis had issues writing their own names, let alone the elegant script on the thick paper Iruka was holding on to.

“Umino, you have been chosen,” his captain’s grin grew even wider at this point, Iruka didn’t even think that that was possible, “as the representative of the police force for this event.”

“Sir?”

“Are you deaf, Umino?”

Iruka snapped to attention at the bite in his captain’s tone, his dead, shark-like eyes causing an involuntary shiver to run down Iruka’s spine. Iruka knew that one of the reasons why he was still alive and in the force was because of Mayor Sarutobi. The old man would kick up a fuss that most people would rather avoid if anything untoward happened to Iruka. But that didn’t mean that people didn’t try to anyway.

“No, sir. But, why me?”

“Kimimaro’s out sick tonight. And you’re taking his place.”

His captain smirked and leaned forward, “It’s Hatake Industries’ yearly fund raiser for children who are in need. You’re still helping out at the orphanage, right?”

Iruka understood the implicit threat immediately, his captain was telling him they knew where his weak spot was. But Iruka wasn’t too worried. Besides the fact that the orphanage was under the care of the mayor, there was another reason why it was safe from outside attacks. A loud, orange clad reason. As long as Naruto was still living there, there was no way that anyone would try to destroy the place. There had more reasons than Iruka to keep that boy alive.

But it also seemed like his captain had finally found a way to rid of him. Oh, he was sure that Kimimaro was sick, but that man was _always_ sick. But for Iruka to be picked as his replacement, even when he was never part of that assignment… it was too obvious a maneuver. Iruka could feel it in his ramen loving gut that something was going to go down that night.

“Make sure you dress appropriately and do something about that hair of yours.” Another insultingly toothy grin.

“Understood, sir.”

“And by the way, Umino, you’ll be the ranking officer on site. Make sure nothing happens that would sully the reputation of this establishment. You hear?”

“Loud and clear, sir.” Iruka wondered if his captain would chew his hand off if he were to salute.

“Dismissed.”

Iruka could feel Kisame’s stare all the way back to his desk.

When he got back to his desk, there was a new computer on it. How they managed to find one that was of an even older model than the previous one, Iruka had no idea. He rubbed his temple, now he really had no time to file his report. He had to catch up with the security detail at the party, and get to his apartment in the outskirts of the city, dig out his dress uniform and make his way to the party that was held back in the city.

“Aww… Ish de wee Detective Umino scared of some glitzy party?”

“Shut up, Anko.” If Iruka didn’t know better, he’d have thought that Anko hated him.

As he tried to shrug Anko off his back, Iruka wasn’t really sure that Anko didn’t not hate him.

“Be careful tonight, Iruka.” Anko whispered, and Iruka tensed.

“I always am.” Iruka leaned back, thanking Anko silently. She gave him another squeeze, and slipped away.

Taking a deep breath, Iruka set up his terminal, and was relieved to find that someone had apparently emailed the details of the events and set up to him. At least he wasn’t going to go in blind. Checking his watch, there wasn’t going to be enough time for him to make it back home. He pulled out his mobile and held it between his head and shoulder, speed reading through the mission details while waiting for someone to pick up his call.

Hopefully, his roommate would be at home.

++++++++++

Iruka stifled a yawn and tried to ignore the itch at the back of his neck, Genma had used too much starch on his uniform again. He shook his head at the approaching waiter and tried to not look too longingly at the food that was laid out on the long tables. Iruka only had time to grab an apple as he made his way to the event venue. He even got his roommate to iron and deliver his dress uniform to the venue for him. Iruka guessed he should be happy that his roommate was even able to find it in the first place, even though Iruka was now responsible for all the chores at home for two weeks.

Feeling distinctly out of place amongst all the elegantly dressed guests, Iruka tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible by standing near some of the back pillars. Given how some of the guests were staring at him, Iruka didn’t think he was very successful. Some of the rings they were sporting cost more than he would earn in five years.

Despite his discomfort, Iruka keep his eyes opened for anything odd. While he was technically on-duty, the security that night was organised by Hatake Industries, and they were using their own people. And some of those people were even more well armed than the police were. Iruka was there, as his captain said, as the face of the police force.

Iruka wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but there seemed to be a tension in the room. An excitement that was growing as the time grew later. It made him tensed. Something _was_ going to happen tonight.

“If you don’t relax anytime soon, you’ll get a crick in your neck, officer.”

“Wha-?!” Iruka spun around, he hadn’t noticed anyone moving behind him.  
“It’s a party, why so tensed?”

At first, Iruka thought that he was seeing things, so he blinked, hoping to clear his vision. But, no, nothing changed. The book was _still_ there. Held up by a hand clad in fingerless gloves, in front of a face that was half covered by messy grey… no, silver, hair. Iruka noted that the suit the man was wearing was likely tailor-made, the way it fitted onto the slim body leaning against the pillar behind Iruka; the way the line was unbroken also told Iruka that it was unlikely the man was hiding any weapons.

“Excuse me, sir. But,” Iruka really had to know, “Are you actually reading _that_ now, right _here_?”  
The man shrugged, and flipped a page. “It’s not illegal, is it, officer?”

Iruka’s fingers twitched, but he couldn’t stop a bemused smile from forming on his face. Despite what Naruto and his friends think, Iruka was _not_ a prude. He just didn’t want children to grow up too fast.

“No, it isn’t.” Iruka turned to look towards the main ballroom again, and he couldn’t resist adding. “It’s probably more interesting than this party anyway.”

A soft chuckle, followed by the clearing of the throat, and Iruka felt the man appear next to him. The book had disappeared, but the lower half of the man’s face was covered by a black scarf that probably cost more than his monthly rent. Iruka shook his head, he would never be able to understand the rich. A scarf in the middle of summer? Maybe having a lot of money gave you a lower body temperature.

“I’d say you’d be more interesting than the party, at least.”

Iruka felt the heat rise up his neck at the man’s teasing tone. He reached out to scratch at his scar, a nervous habit that he was never able to kick, no matter what he… anyone said.

Odd, but Iruka hadn’t thought about his old friend in a long time.

“Err, thanks?”

The one visible eye curved, and Iruka assumed that it mean the man was smiling. He returned the smile, charmed for some reason. When the man reached up to cup a hand around Iruka’s elbow, he let him lead him away from the back of the ballroom.

“Have you seen the pictures in the gallery?”

The low voice caused a delicious warmth to spread in Iruka, and he had to remind himself that he was in uniform, and he had a job to do.

“The gallery is currently out of bounds to guests,” Iruka stepped away from the man’s grasp. “As I’m sure you know that,…?”

Iruka lifted an eyebrow, but no name seemed to be forthcoming. Fine, if the other man wanted to do things that way, but Iruka didn’t have to play. He swung back, right hand going to his weapon when strong fingers clamped onto his left wrist, stopping his turn back towards the main party area.

“Please let go,” Iruka kept his voice low and calm. He made no move to release his gun holster. At this range, it’d be more of an advantage to Iruka to punch the man than to use his gun.

“I didn’t mean…”

Iruka never did find out what the man was going to say. He winced as loud alarms started ringing. Such alarms never bode well for anyone.

“Shit.” Iruka brushed off the now lax fingers and pulled out his mobile, weird man all forgotten as he rushed back. The mayor was supposed to attend the event, and Iruka needed to make sure that Hiruzen was okay, that he was not the target.

Iruka expected to find chaos in the ballroom, but he trusted that the Hatake security would know what to do, what he wasn’t expecting was to see was Mizuki in the ballroom, talking to the mayor. By the way his partner was wildly gesticulating, Iruka knew that something big has happened.

His captain was going to have his head.

“Mizuki! What are you doing here?”

Mizuki blinked, as though he wasn’t expecting to see Iruka. “Iruka! What are you… I thought Kimimaro was in-charge?”

“No time for that now, what’s going on?”

Iruka’s worry grew at the looks exchanged between Mizuki and Hiruzen. He had a very bad feeling.

“It’s Naruto, Iruka.” Hiruzen pulled out his pipe.

His heart clenched, but he kept his tone light. “Eh? Naruto? What did that idiot get himself into now?”

Please just let it be that Naruto defaced the statue of the mayor again. Iruka pleaded to whatever higher power was listening, even though he knew that Hiruzen wouldn’t look like that if it had only been a harmless prank.

“Somehow, Naruto managed to sneak into the Hatake labs and stole some really important documents.”

“What?!”

Mizuki patted Iruka sympathetically on the shoulder. “Don’t see why you’re so surprised. I know you’ve been trying to help, but he’s been on this path for…”

At Iruka’s glare, Mizuki backed off, hands up, palms facing Iruka as though to ward the other man away. “We’ve got search teams combing this area for him. The orders are to restrain once we have them, but if he resists…”

Mizuki shrugged, and Iruka’s worry grew.

“Mayor, I’ll go join the search teams.”

Hiruzen clasps a hand tightly on Iruka’s shoulder, the same one that Mizuki patted, “Find him, Iruka.”

 _Before anyone else._ Iruka knew what would happen if Naruto was to be found by anyone else. He gave a tight nod, and rushed off.

++++++++++

An hour into the search, Iruka’s stumbled into the clearing, panting heavily, jacket unbuttoned and torn in places. When he saw the blonde hair and bright orange jacket, he felt relief, followed up anger. He should have known that Naruto would go to that clearing.

“IDIOT!”

Naruto jumped and his meep was loud enough to hear even with the roaring in Iruka’s ears. He stomped forward towards the nervous boy, and…

SMACK.

“Ow! Iruka-niisan, that hurt!” Naruto pouted as he rubbed at his head, where Iruka had smashed a fist down on it.

“That was the whole point, idiot.” Iruka hugged the boy tightly to his chest, his heart pounding hard enough that Iruka was worried it’d jump out of his chest. He was still in time.

“WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!” Once Iruka was certain that Naruto was fine and unhurt, he release the boy from the hug, but held onto his shoulders at arm's length. He shook the boy for good measure.

“Ack! Iruka-nii!” Naruto flailed, and Iruka could see the documents he was holding onto. Those manila folders printed with the logo of Hatake Industries and “CONFIDENTIAL” in big, bold, red letters. He was also holding onto a vial of something. It had the universal sign for TOXIC on it, and Iruka blanched.

“What did I tell you about sneaking into places where you’re not supposed to?” Iruka’s right hand moved to pull on one of Naruto’s ears, while his left hand reached out for the vial. He hurriedly took off his jacket and carefully wrapped the vial in it. 

“Ow! Ow! But… Mizuki-san said that you needed this for one of your cases!” Naruto waved the documents.

“What? Mizuki???” A growing feeling of unease spread inside Iruka, threatening to choke him.

“Yeah! And… And...” And Naruto pointed to Iruka’s jacket. “And that’s supposed to help me with my situation.”

“Your… Your situation?” Iruka sputtered. Surely, Mizuki wouldn’t…

“You never did know when to keep your mouth shut, you stupid boy.”

“Mizuki!”

“Mizuki-san!”

Iruka’s expression grew alarmed as the glint of metal preceded Mizuki’s appearance in the clearing. He pulled Naruto behind him, ignoring the squawk of indignation from the boy.

“What are you doing here, Mizuki? I was about to take Naruto back,” Iruka kept his voice calm and his hold on Naruto tight.

“Stop playing the good guy, Iruka.’ Mizuki’s expression turned hard. “I know what you really think.”

“What?” Iruka tried to shift Naruto back, hoping that he’d be able to get an opening for the boy to escape.

“Iruka, how long have we been partners?” Mizuki’s tone softened, as though he was trying to cajole Iruka. “Years, right? And I know you better than anyone.”

“No.” Iruka whispered, anguished plain in his face. “Stop it.”

Mizuki stepped closer, and he holstered his gun. “I know exactly how you feel, Iruka. Did you think you could hide your actual feelings about that monster from me?”

“Stop acting like you actually care.” Mizuki’s sympathetic expression made Iruka feel ill. “We both know that you blame that monster for your parents’ death.”

“What? Why would you think that?” Iruka held onto the struggling Naruto.

Mizuki laughed, he probably meant for it to sound lighthearted, but Iruka could hear the cruel tone underneath. “You told me so yourself. Remember when we first started at the Academy? When we went out that weekend and got stinkin’ drunk?”

“We were much younger then.” Iruka shook his head, hoping that Mizuki would stop.

“Nothing can change the past Iruka.” Mizuki took another step towards Iruka and Naruto.

“Iruka,” Naruto’s voice was small and so very, very young behind him. “What is he talking about?”

“We’re talking about you,” Mizuki’s smile turned sharp.

“Stop it, Mizuki!” Iruka would have rushed towards Mizuki, but he was worried about Naruto.

“Don’t you know, Naruto? Haven’t you wondered why people hated you so much?” Mizuki’s smile grew cruel even as the young boy grew still. “That’s because it’s your fault that so many people died so many years ago. It was your fault that Iruka’s parents were kil…”

“STOP IT, MIZUKI!” Iruka screamed, panicking at how Naruto seemed to have slackened behind him.

“Can you deny it, Iruka? You can’t, can you?”

Despite every instinct telling him to not turn his back on Mizuki, Iruka turned to check on Naruto. The boy looked defeated; Iruka never realised how much hope Naruto seemed to carry with him. Until it was snuffed out.

“Don’t listen to him,” Iruka was desperate now. What had he done? He could see Naruto going through all his earliest memories, of his memories of being attacked by strangers… of Iruka ignoring him.

“It’s the truth, right?” Naruto shrugged off Iruka’s hands. “That’s why you hated me so much.”

“No… I never…” The words stuck in Iruka’s throat, the guilt crushing him.

Naruto wiped the tears from his face and adjusted the goggles he wore like a bandana over his head and stepped out from behind Iruka. He shrugged away the hand Iruka reached for him and took one defiant step towards Mizuki.

“Would the vial really help me?”

Mizuki gave a bark of laughter, “You actually believed that, brat? You’re really as stupid as you look. Of course not! I need that for myself. And now…”

If you asked Iruka what happened, he wouldn’t have been able to tell you. All he knew was that he saw Mizuki’s hand go towards his gun, and Naruto standing stockstill, and the next thing he felt pain blossom on his back, and him falling to his knees, and Naruto was under him crying again in shock while Iruka had his hands on either side of the young boy’s head.

“Run.” He whispered and was gratified to see Naruto scramble from under him to run into the forest. He hoped the ones who find Naruto next would listen to the boy before they do anything drastic.

“Why would you do this, Mizuki?” Iruka coughed and was mildly worried to see drops of blood on the floor.

He struggled onto this feet, resting his hands on his thighs for a moment before he straightened his body. He could feel the blood soaking his back, and he gritted his teeth against the pain. He couldn’t afford to fail Naruto now.

“You really don’t know me as well as you think you do.” Iruka coughed again. “Naruto is just a young boy, he did nothing wrong. And he is a younger brother that I am proud to have. So Shut. Your. Mouth.”

And Iruka pulled out his own gun.

++++++++++

A dull roar sounded in Iruka’s ears as a huge shadow jumped in front of him, effectively blocking his view of Mizuki. Iruka wiped the sweat out of his eyes, not understanding what he was seeing at first. Then, the shadow coalesced into a firm shape and, was that a giant fox?

“See, you ARE a beast.”

“YOU LEAVE IRUKA-NII ALONE.”

“Or else?”

“Naruto,” Iruka managed to force out, “Try not to kill him, please.”

Iruka was honest enough to admit that he enjoyed seeing Naruto beating the crap out of Mizuki.

++++++++++

“So, where’s that brat of yours?” Genma lounged against Iruka’s bedroom door frame.

Iruka groaned, every shift of his shoulders causing him pain that not even the strong painkillers could take the edge off. He suspected that part of it was psychological.

He was, after all, stabbed in the back by his partner.

“He is not a brat.”

“I noticed that you didn’t say he wasn’t yours.”

“My brat, as you so lovingly put it, knows better than to disturb me when I’m in pain.”

“Am I really yours, Iruka-niisan?” A small voice sounded from behind Genma.

Iruka was going to kill his friend as soon as he was off the painkillers.

“Come here, Naruto.” Iruka, with great effort, turned to face the door, his expression softening as the young boy shuffled in.

“Are you really going to move out? You know you’d miss me,” Genma’s tone was teasing.

“Shut up, Genma.” Iruka muttered, even as the door closed with a click. God, Iruka hated sleeping on his stomach, it was going to be a very uncomfortable night, and the pain in his back wasn’t making the situation any better. He reached out a hand to grab onto one of Naruto’s fisted ones.

“Where have you been? I heard that you hadn’t gone back to the orphanage.” Iruka tugged the boy until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. Iruka had checked himself out of the hospital as soon as he could, with promises to his doctor that he would be good with his follow-up sessions.

Naruto muttered something, and Iruka tightened his grip. Naruto sighed loudly, “I was at the hospital, but the nurses kept chasing me away, so I hid somewhere no one would take notice… ACK.”

“You silly boy.” Iruka hugged Naruto as tight as his wound would allow, ignoring the stretch and scream of his back muscles.

He also ignored the fact that his shirt was slowly getting wetter while his own vision was also blurring.

When they both had their cries, and Naruto was only sniffling, Iruka finally let go. He brushed the blonde hair tenderly, and tried to keep his eyes opened. He yawned and grinned when he felt Naruto arrange the covers around him.

“You better be here when I wake up, you hear?” Iruka mumbled and knew all was well between the two of them when Naruto’s answer was a shy, “Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> I was unable to complete this in time for fest posting so there’s only Chapter 1! m(._.)m Again, I must thank the awesome mods for being so nice TAT
> 
> This fic kinda got away from me, and I’ve got more written… and will post ASAP. This can be considered some sort of prologue? I also apologise for the lack of Kakashi.
> 
> \+ I also changed the titles after the mods posted this because I am a dork


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